Disclaimer: None of the characters belong to me.
A/N: So, here's another short fic before I start on the stories based around the episode "The Strip" and, for a change of pace, it's about Julie. This story is set after the "booty call" scene when Caleb comes to Julie's house in "The Telenovela." So, I hope you enjoy this story, please review and let me know.
Should I call him? Of course not. Well...maybe... No, the way things are now is the way they should be. After all, she was Julie Cooper, she couldn't afford to be caught with her daughter's ex boyfriend. She had done the right thing when she had ended it with Luke.
Yet, if it really was the right, then why was she spending so much time thinking about it? Or him, for that matter. All day, Julie had been able to think of nothing but Luke and the look on his face when she had told him it was over; there was something there, a flicker, a sign of heartbreak. Had it shown in her face too, passed through her eyes as she had forced herself to tell him that it would never work?
"Of course it would never work." Julie mumbled aloud to herself, tearing her eyes away from the cordless phone on the coffee table beside an empty bottle of merlot. She swallowed the remaining liquid in her wineglass and sighed. "It never would have worked."
But she knew that, knew there had never been any future since she had first starting sleeping with Luke. He was nothing more then a distraction, something to take her mind off losing Cal, someone to make her feel good again. And yet, Julie couldn't help but wonder if it had turned into something more; judging by the way her mind kept racing around in circles, maybe it had.
"Become what?" Julie questioned, though she knew she hadn't had enough to drink to justify talking to herself. Good thing Caitlin was at a sleepover. "It's nothing more then what it is. Was. Then was it was."
But what was it? Oh stop it Julie, she thought to herself as she stood up, holding her glass and heading into the kitchen. Don't obsess. Julie Cooper did not obsess over things.
Yet she was obsessing now. As she stood at the kitchen sink, trying to decide whether or not she should wash out her glass or open another bottle of wine, Julie slowly found herself thinking about Luke instead. If she called his cell, he'd certainly pick up and Caitlin was out of the house...
Julie placed her glass in the sink with a considerable amount of force, trying to get her mind off Luke. She absolutely wasn't going to call Luke, it was over; there were plenty of other things she could do to take her mind off him, like enjoying a nice, warm bubble bath or watch television. Or read, she hadn't read a book in at least two years.
"Oh stop it." Talking aloud again. Julie sighed. "No matter what you do, you're going to think of it." It was the truth. Why couldn't she stop thinking about him? He was just a teenage boy, someone she shouldn't even be with.
Julie needed someone else to get her mind off Luke, someone to force the thoughts from her mind. But whom could she talk to? Certainly not Jimmy (of course not!) and she didn't really have any close friends...or friends at all.
Julie's eyes roamed until she was looking out the window and directly into the kitchen of the Cohen house. Kirsten was walking around, sipping Coke from the can and looking over some business reports. Julie considered for a moment; Kirsten really was the closet thing she had to a friend. It was worth a shot.
Kirsten looked up from the report in her hands when someone knocked on the patio door and was surprised to see Julie standing outside with a smile on her face. "Is everything all right, Julie?" She questioned as she opened the door.
"Of course." Julie answered as she stepped past Kirsten and into the house. "You just looked a little lonely, so I thought I'd come over and give you some company."
Kirsten sighed. "That's okay, Julie, I'm really not that-"
"And I saw you were working on stuff for work so I thought I'd see if I could help you." Julie continued, ignoring Kirsten's words and taking a seat at the island. "Speaking of help, maybe you could help me with something."
Kirsten sighed again and headed over to where Julie was sitting; so that was the real reason for her visit. "Look, Julie, if this is about my dad..."
Julie shook her head. "Of course not." She waved her hand dismissively. "And I don't need help for me anyway, it's for a friend."
Kirsten pursed her lips and raised a skeptical eyebrow. "Okay." She sat down next to Julie. "What's wrong? With your friend I mean."
Julie sighed; how was she going to go about this? She couldn't exactly bring up the fact that she was sleeping with Luke, or anyone else for that matter; Kirsten saw through her 'friend' façade, so if she confessed she had guy troubles then Kirsten was going to want to know with who.
"What the hell." Julie mumbled. "There's this boy...man! There's this man that I'm not quite sure how I feel about, except for the fact that I know I shouldn't be with him."
"I thought this was about your friend."
"I lied."
Kirsten sighed. "Why can't you be with this guy?" She asked, unable to believe that she was actually talking to Julie Cooper like they were close girlfriends. She was more interested, however, in who this mystery guy was then actually helping her; Julie had always been able to get any guy she wanted, so this was something new. Besides, Julie didn't exactly exhibit morals when it came to the dating world, either.
Julie looked down at her feet. "It's complicated." She said and wished that she had never come over. How was Kirsten supposed to help her decide why in the hell she couldn't stop thinking about Luke? Why had they even gotten involved in the first place?
"You're the one who asked for my help, remember?" Kirsten pointed out, a little more harshly then she had intended. "I'm tired and I have a lot of work to do."
Julie looked up. "I didn't have anyone else to talk to, that's why I came here. You don't have to be such a bitch, geez." She snapped and Kirsten's face softened.
"I'm sorry." Kirsten said, but she wasn't quite sure if she meant it. Girl time with Julie Cooper was something you had to prepared for. "How can I help you, Julie?"
Julie sighed and was silent for a moment. "It's just that, all my life, I've always believed that I would find the perfect guy, the sort of guy that made everything make sense, you know?" Kirsten didn't say anything. "And the weird thing is, I think I might have found him, but it's just not right." Did she really mean those things? Luke couldn't be her knight-in-shining armor, for God's sake; he was daughter's ex-boyfriend. He was a teenager!
Kirsten raised an eyebrow. "Who is this guy?" She questioned and, for a moment, Julie looked almost terrified.
"You don't know him." Julie answered quickly. "It doesn't matter, anyway. What does matter is that it's absolutely wrong for us to be together but I can't stop thinking about him." Why was she telling all these things to Kirsten? She just couldn't stop herself from talking.
"Is he married?"
"Not exactly." Julie answered. "He's just unavailable...in a different way.' This was going no where; it wasn't helping her to talk to Kirsten. All she could think about was Luke...and now she had just compared him to her Romeo, her dream guy. How did this start? How did she let this happen?
Kirsten sighed. "So, what exactly am I supposed to be helping you with, Julie? Do you want me to tell you whether or not you should keep seeing him?" She wasn't very good at girl-time.
Julie paused; she didn't know what she had expected. "I guess I just needed someone to talk to." She muttered. "I don't even know how I really feel about this guy, or what I'm expecting to happen between us. I don't love him, at least I don't think I do." She sighed and rolled her eyes. "Of course I don't!"
Kirsten was silent; she wasn't quite sure what to say. It seemed as though Julie could have gotten the same amount of reaction if she had been talking to her mirror. "Well, if he's not married or...something, then maybe you need to figure out why you like him and why you can't be with him." It was the best she had to offer.
Julie had never allowed herself to think about why she liked Luke and she wasn't quite sure she wanted to think about those things aloud with Kirsten. "Well, he makes me feel like I matter." She admitted finally.
Kirsten smiled. "Well, it sounds like he's good for you." She wondered who this guy was; Julie had never talked about her father that way. Which was actually a blessing in disguise, when she thought about it.
Julie didn't say anything; she thought about what she had told Luke earlier, when she had said they couldn't be together. "He is good." She mused and when she saw the look on Kirsten's face, she quickly added, "For me." She paused. "Maybe it really is the stuff of great romance." Whether she liked to admit it or not.
Kirsten nodded but she had no idea what Julie was talking about. "Okay, thanks for everything Kirsten." Julie said suddenly, getting to her feet and heading for the patio door. "She you tomorrow."
"Right." Kirsten mumbled and watched Julie head back to her house. "That was interesting." She sighed and turned back to her business reports. At least living in New Port was never dull.
Julie headed back to her empty house, thinking about what she had just told Kirsten. She was certain she shouldn't be with Luke, but she was more certain about how he made her feel: special and important.
Unconventional, yes, but maybe that was what made the stuff of great romance.